by Barb Han
“Yes,” Rylan said. He turned his attention back to Zach as Amber disappeared.
The baby cried louder once in the kitchen, and he figured Amber had her hands full. She probably needed help.
Rylan followed the sound. “What do you want me to do?” He had to do something. He couldn’t stand helplessly by and watch Amber do all the work. He wasn’t a jerk.
Zach waited with the patience of a Sunday-school teacher in church.
Amber mixed a packet of formula with bottled water that she’d heated. She filled the bottle and secured the lid. The little girl latched on and then settled in Amber’s arms. Rylan didn’t want to notice how natural Amber looked holding a baby. His baby?
“I have no idea if the child is mine. There was one time I was with someone, but I’m not even sure the dates match up,” Rylan admitted.
Zach asked a few routine-sounding questions that Rylan didn’t know the answers to.
“What happens now, Zach?” Rylan needed to know what was going to happen to the little girl.
“This is where we call in Child Protect—”
“Let’s say that wasn’t an option,” Rylan interrupted. “What then?”
Amber’s gaze darted from the little girl in her arms to Rylan and back.
“A case could be made for her to stay with a parent,” Zach informed him.
“We haven’t established paternity.” Rylan had no idea if he was the little girl’s father, but no kid deserved to be dropped off and left behind. Being rejected by the two people who were supposed to love a kid the most made for a bad upbringing. Although Rylan was never a bad kid, per se, he’d managed his fair share of trouble over the years, especially in high school. Thinking about restitution for the trouble he’d caused the Willow family was a large part of the reason he’d moved back to town. He owed them and had every intention of making good.
“I’ll make that call and see who’s available at CPS,” Zach said. “Before you tell me you don’t have to meet the CPS worker and that you have a comfort level with the child, I’ll make that call to see who’s available. The other option is to let her stay here.”
Rylan looked at the little girl, who seemed content to curl up in Amber’s arms. “I’ll meet the person you send.”
Brooklyn Anderson? He did like how that sounded.
Zach excused himself to make a call. He returned a minute later. “Elise Shelton is on her way.”
“What will happen to her?” Rylan motioned toward Brooklyn.
“She’ll be placed in a temporary home until her identity can be established via a DNA test and her parents are located,” Zach informed him.
Rylan appreciated Zach for not automatically assuming she belonged to him. If she turned out to be his daughter, he would figure out a way to make her feel at home in his house, in their home.
“Any chance I can keep her here until this mess is sorted out?” Rylan didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. Maybe there was a loophole? If not, he’d have to rely on Zach’s good nature.
The sheriff’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You would want to do that? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a noble gesture but babies need a lot of care. Do you know how to make a bottle or change a diaper?”
Rylan shrugged. “I wouldn’t sign up for it voluntarily but here she is. Being dropped off here must’ve been traumatic for her, and the thought of sending her off to someone and changing her environment again doesn’t sit right. And here’s the thing, what if she is my child? Then what? She gets bounced back here right where we started?”
“I see your point.” Zach’s expression was calm, serious. “What if she’s not your child? What if a mother is running away from someone? What if she picked your name off a mailbox and found a random person to tell you this story?”
“That’s all the more reason for me to keep her. I can protect her.” Rylan was dead serious about that. His military training made him the best qualified to handle a threat, foreign or domestic.
“Do you know how to care for a baby?” Zach asked again. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but they’re a handful.”
Rylan needed to think long and hard about his next move.
“I’LL STICK AROUND and help with the baby until her paternity gets sorted out,” Amber volunteered.
Zach’s gaze flew to her. She shrugged, trying to dismiss the innuendo that she was offering for another reason, like she was attracted to Rylan.
“You sure that’s such a good idea?” Zach asked.
“I’m not going to turn my back on a friend, Zach. Besides, he’s never taken care of a baby before as far as I know, and you just pointed out what a handful one could be.” Throwing his own words back at him usually worked in disagreements with her cousin. She knew he had her best interests at heart, but she also knew her own mind. “Do you really want this sweet little girl bounced around? And, as Rylan said, there’s a chance you’ll be bringing her right back here at the end of a couple of days anyway.”
Zach stood there, staring at the carpet. She knew she was getting through to him.
“I doubt this will take long to decipher, and then I’ll be back at the ranch doing my own thing again,” she added for good measure.
“What if the DNA test reveals that Rylan is the father?” Zach was tapping his toe. “What then?”
“He’ll have to figure out his next moves when that time comes,” Amber admitted. “Until then, I plan to give him a hand.”
Rylan would have to hire help. There were a few grandmothers in Jacobstown who had free time on their hands and who wouldn’t mind a babysitting job. Amber could think of three off the top of her head, and she’d be happy to supply names. Heck, at least one of them would babysit for free just to have something to do. Granted, individually they couldn’t handle Brooklyn all day by themselves, but something could be worked out.
“Your heart’s in the right place, Amber. It is,” Zach started. “But you have a full plate at the ranch right now.”
“I can do some of the work from here. Calves aren’t due for another couple of weeks, so that gives me some time,” she said. Zach could only give her advice. Amber was old enough to make her own decisions, and she would. He knew it, too, based on the look in his eyes.
“If that’s the decision, I’d better track down this little one’s parents,” he finally said.
“What about a home paternity test? Don’t they sell those at the drugstore?” Amber already had her cell phone out, checking out names of tests on the internet. “Do you think those are accurate?”
“Sometimes they are. Sometimes they aren’t. This is too important to leave to chance,” Zach stated.
“You’re right about that.” Rylan folded his arms.
“The courts will want me involved to prove paternity,” Zach said. “They’ll want me to control the chain of evidence. We’ll get Dr. Logan out here to take the sample. Let me text Elise and tell her not to come. She probably won’t want to get out in this weather anyway.”
The fact that Rylan could be a father slammed into Amber. She couldn’t see him waking up at three thirty in the morning for feedings or diaper changes until this moment. There was something about the look in his eye that said he would do whatever he needed to in order to care for his child.
Amber’s chest squeezed at thinking about the baby’s mother showing up and wanting to be a family. It was silly, really. Amber and Rylan had never dated. A relationship with her older brother’s friend was completely out of the question, especially considering no one would clue her in as to why they’d stopped talking. And yet an inappropriate stab of jealousy struck anyway.
Did she want another baby? Was that the reason for the strange emotions coursing through her? The one she’d lost with her ex had nearly done her in emotionally. She couldn’t even talk about the baby that had been stillborn, the divorce that had followed.
When she really thought about it…no. Amber had too many responsibilities at the ranch and in town.
Thinking about babies struck her as odd. She’d never been the type to sit around and daydream about weddings and kids. She’d never really been certain that having a family of her own was the right decision for her, especially after losing her parents, her baby, and then getting divorced before she turned twenty. She’d seen a few of her brothers find happiness and settle down. Marriage had been good for them.
Amber couldn’t fathom trying again. Besides, she had too much to accomplish. And she may never decide to have a family of her own. It would take a special guy in her life to make her want those things again. He would have to be someone incredibly special to make her able to face another pregnancy.
And the funny thing was that she wasn’t even ready to begin looking for him.
But, sitting in Rylan’s kitchen, holding what could be his baby, she couldn’t deny a certain pull toward the child.
Then again, those big brown eyes and round cheeks had a way of casting a spell on a person. Quit being so cute, kiddo.
Amber refocused on the conversation going on between Zach and Rylan. It involved a doctor and the court and words she never expected to hear in a conversation about Rylan. Fatherhood. Wow. It looked like he was about to grow up if this was real. Looking at his body—a body he’d filled out during his time in the military—it looked like Rylan had already accomplished that on his own.
Her heart stuttered when he caught her gaze. He also busted her staring at his chest. Her cheeks flamed. This was turning out to be a red-letter day.
He walked close to her as Zach made a phone call, presumably to Dr. Logan.
“Thank you for offering to stay, Amber.” He started to say more, but she put her hand up to stop him.
“It’s nothing.” Her heart argued against her offer amounting to nothing. “Don’t worry about it.”
How long could it take to get answers?
Chapter Four
“I’m sure I would’ve heard gossip if Amber Kent had had a baby. So, who does this little bean belong to?” Dr. Logan smiled at Brooklyn. She cooed. Wow, Amber thought. Five kids definitely gave him the experience edge. Thankfully, he’d been on his way home from the hospital and didn’t mind diverting for a few minutes to lend a hand.
Amber and her family had known Dr. Logan since forever. His green eyes were as warm as ever even though the rest of him was aging. He was graying everywhere else. He was a gentle man, fairly tall at five feet eleven inches but much shorter than Rylan. Dr. Logan kept himself in shape by running.
The times Amber headed into town in the morning she’d see him on a run. He was an honest man who’d been married to the same woman since graduating high school. They’d had five children, and the joke had always been that they needed one more to keep up with the Kents. Mrs. Logan and Amber’s mother had been close friends. Amber’s heart squeezed. Even though it had been years and she should be used to it by now, she still missed her mother. She missed her father, too, of course. But after losing her child, Amber could have used her mother to help get her through. The recent holidays left her feeling blue without her parents.
“She’s not mine. We’re trying to figure out if she belongs to Rylan Anderson,” Amber said to the doctor with a wink. She’d asked to be the one to answer the door when he knocked.
“I’d heard he was back in town. Didn’t realize he brought back a family.” Dr. Logan wasn’t being judgmental when he said it. He glanced past Amber.
Seeing him made her miss her folks that much more, and between Brooklyn and her brothers’ babies maternal feelings stirred inside Amber after shutting them off after losing her baby.
“Zach and Rylan are in the kitchen.” She motioned toward the back of the house. She stopped short of walking in the next room. “Rylan had his world shaken up, Dr. Logan. He just learned about this little angel and has no idea if she’s his.”
“Oh. I see. Zach mentioned there was a question about the little girl. I didn’t connect the dots. Forgive an old man.” His smile lit up his eyes and made her think about her own pop. He would be close to the same age as Dr. Logan now. Her father’s eyes had been hazel, like looking across the sea.
“Thanks for understanding.” Amber’s eyes started welling up. That was embarrassing. She shoved her feelings aside, wiped a rogue tear and focused on the baby in her arms.
Amber followed Dr. Logan into the kitchen. She’d believed that she’d dealt with her sense of loss with her parents a couple of years ago, but emotion brimmed just under the surface. “Thank you for coming, Dr. Logan,” Zach said with an outstretched hand.
He took Zach’s offering first and then Rylan’s.
“How about you sit right here,” Dr. Logan said to Amber, motioning toward the chair next to the kitchen table. “This won’t take but a second.”
He made goofy faces at Brooklyn. The baby laughed. He played peekaboo, and the little angel’s laugh caused an ache in Amber’s chest. Doc opened his medical bag and pulled out a swab. He used it to collect a sample from the inside of the little girl’s cheek.
Rylan paced circles on the tile floor behind Amber.
She avoided eye contact with her cousin because she could already read the disapproval on his features. He wouldn’t want her around Rylan any more than her brother Will would.
Rylan had made a few mistakes, she’d give Will that much. And she knew deep down her brother still cared about his former best friend even though he’d refused to talk about him the first year Rylan was gone. Anyone who mentioned Rylan’s name got a dirty stare before Will excused himself and left the room. Something had happened between them, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it had been. And she’d tried. She’d quietly asked around, but either no one knew or no one was talking. Knowing her brother, no one knew but Will and Rylan. Will had gone quiet and Rylan signed up for the military.
Will was stubborn. Especially when he thought he was right.
The problem was that she had no idea how her brother felt about Rylan anymore. Her relationships with her siblings had changed after losing their parents. In some ways the loss had brought them all closer. In others it had taken a toll. Everyone had been busy in the last few years changing their lives in order to take over their rightful places at the ranch.
Nothing felt settled. Of course, that could just be Amber. She was the broken one.
Brooklyn cooed once more at Dr. Logan, who could win Dad of the Year based on his exchange with the baby. In fact, Amber figured she could learn a few things from the man.
Again, the thought of Rylan being a dad struck a strange chord. She needed to get a grip. They were old friends and nothing more. He needed help and had been back in town only a week or two. He’d reached out to her as a friend, and she was helping because of their past and because the recent holiday season had her feeling melancholy. That was all. Her body might have an inappropriate reaction to seeing Rylan again, but logically she knew better than to put too much stock into it.
So the military had filled him out and he looked even more gorgeous than before, if that was even possible. That wasn’t all. Something was different. They were both eight years older; both had changed.
“One more sample and I’ll be on my way,” Dr. Logan said, looking toward Rylan.
Amber figured that Rylan would want to know immediately about the results and part of her wanted to know, too. Again, the thought of Rylan being a dad blew her away. He hardly seemed old enough, but he very much was. Several of her brothers were married and had children.
Reality was a hard smack. When had everyone gotten this old?
Okay, granted, being in their twenties and early thirties wasn’t exactly old. She meant when had everyone matured enough to have families of their own? It felt like only a minute had passed since she’d bee
n running in the fields with one or more of her brothers and some of their neighbors playing Keep Away or Freeze Tag.
And now?
She’d blinked and everything was different.
“Any chance you can share the results with Rylan the minute they come in?” she asked the doctor.
“I think that would be okay as long as the sheriff doesn’t have a problem with it,” Dr. Logan answered.
All eyes flew to Zach.
“I’m fine with it.” The sheriff raked his fingers through his hair. “I’d want to know as soon as possible if this was me. Official word is for the courts.”
“Thank you,” Amber said, and she could see some measure of relief on Rylan’s face. Otherwise, he looked pretty out of his element.
The doctor finished his tests in a matter of minutes. He handed one to Zach and placed one in his carrying case. “I won’t have the results until Monday. The lab’s closed for the day.”
Amber figured it was going to be an uncomfortable night, but they could power through.
“Thank you.” Rylan walked Dr. Logan to the front door.
Amber turned to Zach. “There’s a diaper bag with a handwritten note in it.”
“I’ll take it into evidence.” Zach excused himself and then returned a minute later with a paper bag.
“It’s in there,” she said.
Zach was careful to remove the note. “Maybe we’ll get lucky with a fingerprint match.”
“Mine will be on there. Sorry.” Amber wasn’t sure she wanted Brooklyn’s mother to be in the criminal database. That would mean her mother had committed other crimes, which was not exactly ideal.
Amber’s stomach performed that annoying flip-flop routine when Rylan came back into the kitchen.
“I better run. Let me know if Dr. Logan sends word to you, okay?” Zach held tight to the evidence bag that now had a companion.
“We will,” Amber answered before Zach let himself out.